1881 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

For related races, see 1874–75 United States Senate elections.

1881 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

←  1875 January 26, 1881 1887  →

Nominee Philetus Sawyer James Graham Jenkins others Party Republican Democratic Legislative vote 98 29 3 Percentage 75.38% 22.31% 2.31%

U.S. senator before election Angus Cameron Republican Elected U.S. Senator Philetus Sawyer Republican

The 1881 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held in the 34th Wisconsin Legislature January 26, 1881. Incumbent Republican U.S. senator Angus Cameron did not run for re-election. Republican former U.S. representative Philetus Sawyer was elected United States senator on the first ballot. ^[1]

In the 1881 term, Republicans held overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, so had more than enough votes to elect a Republican United States senator. The main contest was in the Republican legislative caucus, but the former U.S. representative, Sawyer, was quickly nominated after demonstrating a clear majority of support.

Major candidates

Democratic

• James Graham Jenkins, prominent attorney from Milwaukee.

Republican

• Philetus Sawyer, former U.S representative and former mayor of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Official vote

The 34th Wisconsin Legislature met in joint session on January 26, 1881, to elect a U.S. senator. The voting went almost exactly along party lines, with three members absent. Of the members present and voting, Philetus Sawyer received the votes of all but two Republican legislators, winning the election. ^[1]

1st Vote of the 34th Wisconsin Legislature, January 26, 1881 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Philetus Sawyer	98 [a]	75.38%
	Democratic	James Graham Jenkins	29	22.31%
	Republican	Cadwallader C. Washburn	2 [b]	1.54%
	Democratic	Charles D. Parker	1 [c]	0.77%
		Absent or not voting	3
Majority			66	50.77%
Total votes			130	97.74%
	Republican hold

Notes

1. Sawyer received the votes of all Republicans except representatives Albert O. Chamberlain, Henry B. Howe, Walter Maxwell (who were all absent), and representatives John H. Case and Thomas M. Corbett (who voted for Washburn).
2. Republican representatives John H. Case and Thomas M. Corbett voted for Cadwallader C. Washburn.
3. Democratic senator Matthew Anderson voted for Charles D. Parker.

References

1. "January 26, 1881". Journal of Proceedings of the Wisconsin Legislature (Report). Wisconsin Legislature. 1881. pp. 92–93. Retrieved March 11, 2025– via HathiTrust.